


we can make magic

by Dreamy_Ideal



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Drabble, M/M, Magicians, an attempt at humor, the magic kind and performing kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 08:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30086109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamy_Ideal/pseuds/Dreamy_Ideal
Summary: chanyeol helps yixing with a magic show
Relationships: Park Chanyeol/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Kudos: 8





	we can make magic

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost of a fic I posted in 2018 to a drabble collection. It was unbeta'd then and still is now.

“Why are you still doing this? You have your engineering degree, you could have a stable job that’s better--”

“I can be good at this!” Yixing snapped, and the brief silence that followed felt heavy. Chanyeol didn’t dare peak around the corner to look at Minseok and Yixing. He kept his back pressed up against the wall. “I can be good at this, I know I can. I can’t get better if I kick myself every time I mess something up. I need to keep practicing. This is when it matters. I won’t give up.” His voice was so gently hopeful. Gentle and yet strong enough to crack Chanyeol’s heart. “I’ll get better.”

On his way home Chanyeol made a call. “Hey, are you very busy tomorrow? I need someone to witness something for me.”

Since he was getting more comfortable with the starting process and the way that Yixing liked everything, Chanyeol took the chance to arrive to the venue an hour ahead of time to start setting up. He also thanked Junmyeon for letting them perform at his niece's party in the first place.

“Don’t thank me yet, these kids are ruthless.” Junmyeon looked out at the gaggle of five to seven year olds running around the play area across from the stage. “I got her a clown last year. I don’t think I ever heard of that man performing again.”

“We have thick skin,” Chanyeol assured him, giving him a thumbs up for good measure. He looked out at the kids as well. They wouldn’t be the toughest critics they ever had. Chanyeol’s eyes passed over the entrance and he did a double take upon seeing Kyungsoo’s face. “I think we can surprise you this time. Excuse me, I see a friend.”

Chanyeol jumped off the stage and hurried to where Kyungsoo stood. He was looking around the area, his confusion as clear as day. “This is a weird place to meet,” he said before Chanyeol had a chance to get a greeting out. He pressed on with one anyway but Kyungsoo spoke over him. “Where are we going?”

“We’re staying here? This is where I need you.” Kyungsoo looked around him to where the party was, then back at him. His normal stoic expression quickly turned into a genuine frown.

“I know you’re not asking me to witness what I think you’re asking me to.” Chanyeol mirrored Kyungsoo’s frown. “If there’s any..” Kyungsoo looked around at the parents gathered a safe distance away from the festivities before he leaned in and whispered, “hexing or--”

“No!” The work Kyungsoo did to keep attention off of them was quickly wasted. Hastily Chanyeol put an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders and steered him towards the stage. “No, you should know me better than that.” Kyungsoo sighed.

“I know, but I’m officially a Witness now. I have to be careful. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve heard.” Kyungsoo glanced again at the playing kids, then looked to the stage where Yixing’s table was partially set up. “So what am I here for?” Chanyeol checked to make sure Junmyeon was really gone.

“My friend is a magician and I want to help him with his show a little?” Chanyeol started his request out confidently but his boldness dwindled just a bit in the wake of Kyungsoo’s gaze.

“This is better than sacrifice but by a very small margin.” He knew when he dialed Kyungsoo the night before that he wasn’t going to like the request--and simply not liking it was the best case scenario--but Chanyeol didn’t have anyone else to call. A formal request for a Witness took weeks just to submit, and for something as unimportant and mildly risky as this Chanyeol would have been lucky to get a denial in response instead of being ignored outright. “Chanyeol--”

“Just a little!” A pout would not help against Kyungsoo but he pulled one anyway. He needed every weapon he had. Which was just that pout. “Just for helping things levitate or pushing them across the stage, he’s not sawing me in half or anything. And they’re kids, they’ll barely notice.” Kyungsoo lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily.

“When was the last time you used your magic?”

“Mine? It’s been a while but what does that matter?” Magic was like walking or breathing to him.

“It is a muscle.” Kyungsoo corrected his thoughts and Chanyeol had more evidence to add to his ‘Witnesses can read minds and know all your dirty thoughts and that’s why they always look like they’re judging everyone’ folder. “Muscle memory. You know how to do a push-up but if you don’t do some ‘in a while’ then they’ll be harder to do.”

“Very, very little stuff, I promise.” Kyungsoo didn’t look at him. “Please? What’s the point of magic if we can’t use it to help people we l--like to help?” Kyungsoo did look at him then, tired and irritated.

“You’re going to do this whether I witness or not right?”

“Yes,” Chanyeol admitted without a problem. “But it would be nice to get permission and not get in trouble.” Normally he wouldn’t care; in his opinion the risk of getting caught using magic away from safe zones was roughly the same as getting caught driving without a license (he was going to get around to getting one of those eventually), but he didn’t want to chance it while he was committed to helping Yixing.

“Get your artifact,” Kyungsoo said after a silence that seemed to go on forever, “before I change my mind.”

Scrambling, Chanyeol hooked his necklace and placed it in Kyungsoo’s outstretched hand. Kyungsoo rolled his fingers over the pendant a few times and handed it back to Kyungsoo. “Thank you thank you thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. If any of these people leave with one less body part than they came in with I’m restraining you myself.”

“Okay, but are you going to count everyone’s toes then? I don’t want to get blamed for something that happened before I got here.” Chanyeol knew for a fact that Kyungsoo’s looks could kill so he scurried back to the stage and out of the way to finish setting everything up.

Yixing arrived after Chanyeol finished and changed into the black slacks and gold glittered blazer that marked him as the lovely assistant. “I didn’t think lovely assistants could be men.” Chanyeol looked at Kyungsoo sitting at the end of the first row.

“I’m lovely as fuck,” he said as he framed his face with his hands. “Don’t be like that.”

“I agree, but please, it’s a kid’s show today.” Yixing rubbed the small of Chanyeol’s back and Chanyeol smiled widely for him. “The magic isn’t how many curse words we can put in their heads for them to take home.”

“I have a nephew, these kids probably know more curse words than I do.” Yixing laughed over Chanyeol’s defense before excusing himself to go and change. Chanyeol pointed after him. “He thinks I’m lovely.”

“I care about what your crush thinks? Hurry up and preform. And remember what I said.”

“Remember what _I_ said. I’m not taking responsibility for pre-missing toes.”

Chanyeol went to the bathroom just before the show started. Kyungsoo’s words bothered him. Closing himself up in a stall, he tried to summon a little storm into his hand. It was the first bit of magic he learned before he went to school, when it was just his mother and his sister teaching him what they knew. If he could do that then he could manage a little magic for the show.

He smiled as a little gray cloud formed a few inches above his palm, dots of water falling down. A bit of lighting hit his hand shortly afterward and he yelped and shook his hand away. Well, that was satisfying enough. The lightning strike was a little surprising but he wouldn’t be summoning an actual storm so there was nothing to fear.

“We’re going to do great,” Chanyeol said to Yixing while they waited on stage for Junmyeon and the parents to wrangle the kids up and get them into (or at least close to) their seats. Yixing nodded. He was fumbling with his plastic wand, and Chanyeol couldn’t help but think that it was adorable that he brought the thing along whenever he did a show for kids, whether he was going to use it or not.

“We’re going to do great.” Yixing’s smile was big and confident and dimpled, and it was the kind of smile that made Chanyeol believe they could take on the world together.

\--

If they took on the world like they took on that show then the world would never stop laughing at them.

Chanyeol stared at the two ramen bowls sitting on the table in front of him. Things had gone better than Kyungsoo expected, at least. Everyone left with toes intact and were none the wiser about the wizard in their presence. Everything else though...well, it would have been weirder for Yixing to have a suddenly perfect show. And the kids, despite being ruthless, had short attention spans. Yixing managed an impressive finale, turning bits of paper he sent flying into the air from his hat into butterflies, and that was enough to keep the kids from charging the stage and throwing the both of them off.

He blinked when a beer can was set in front of him. Yixing sighed. “Good show. Nothing caught on fire.” For once Chanyeol was glad about wizard secrecy; it meant he never had to tell Yixing about how those butterflies he summoned very nearly did catch fire.

“Next show will be even better. Maybe we can even set something on fire on purpose. Work it into the act since it happens so much.” Yixing laughed. His smiled lingered as his eyes dropped down to the business card that Junmyeon gave them before they left.

“Kids are ruthless,” he’d said, “but you’re really not that bad. If you get an act together for adults, call me. I throw a lot of parties, I wouldn’t mind having you by for a couple if you need some practice.”

Chanyeol was going to have to thank both Junmyeon and Kyungsoo when he had a chance (and money). That smile they helped put on Yixing’s face, that was worth more than a meal, but that was the best he had.

“I’ll pay you tomorrow,” Yixing said with a sigh, dragging his ramen cup to him. “Thank you for dealing with your hyung. Give me a little more time and I’ll find a permanent assistant.”

“About that...can I keep being your assistant?” Yixing looked at him with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open, a classic look of surprise.

“Why?”

“Your passion, I like being around that. And you’re driven. I thought I like to get things done but you, you appreciate the journey. You could be booed off stage and chased out of a building with pitchforks and you would still say ‘this will make me better’. I admire that.” Yixing looked down at the table, his ears going red. He took compliments about as well as Chanyeol did. “And I know because of that one day you’ll be the greatest magician around. You’ll have your own show in Vegas, even, and I want to be with you when you do.”

“Are you saying you’re using me to get to Vegas?”

“A little bit, yea.” Yixing laughed again, then nodded.

“Okay.”

“Really? I expected more of a fight.”

“I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want you to feel like you had to keep helping, but, honestly, I like having you on stage with me.” Chanyeol could feel his ears getting a little red. “I’m used to the negativity but it’s a little more bearable knowing you’ll be there to laugh it all off with me. I think you’re the loveliest assistant I could have.”

“Oh, no more hyung, I’m embarrassed.” Chanyeol played up some shyness to get a snort out of Yixing.

“But that means I have to get you a proper assistant outfit. With tassels and all.” Chanyeol held out his arms and shook his shoulders to imitate shaking tassels around.

“I’m ready to suit up. We can make magic happen.”

**Author's Note:**

> 💖💖💖


End file.
